4 ms·

Yeah, baseball participation seems WAAAAY down. Kids play in leagues (I don't know if participation is increasing or decreasing) but almost never play pickup (i

Yeah, baseball participation seems WAAAAY down. Kids play in leagues (I don't know if participation is increasing or decreasing) but almost never play pickup (ie, informal, unorganized) baseball "for fun" anymore which I think is a leading indicator of a sport's future. I saw some kids playing a pickup game a few months ago and it blew my mind. Hadn't seen that in years, or since. When I was a kid in the 1980s it was not uncommon to play baseball or whiffleball on a pickup basis with one's friends. When my dad was a kid in a major US city in the 40s and 50s he said you didn't even need to gather friends; there was pretty much always a baseball game or three being play amongst kids at the park that you could get into. It's sad, in a way, but (as much as I love it) baseball's kind of an awkward sport because you need so many people to play anything resembling an actual game. (I know you can have a lot of fun playing catch with two people, or just pitching and hitting with two or three people... spent hundreds of hours doing these things myself)

bobochan 9y ago
I coached youth baseball for a long time and every year I would ask for a quick show of hands for how many kids had actually been to a major league game, and then how many kids had watched baseball on TV. The numbers for both dropped every year, but the TV numbers were in free fall. Talking to the parents, most reported that they were unwilling to subscribe to premium channels to watch baseball, and that they wanted to limit the amount of time that their kids spent on electronics. The net effect was that we had to work with every player as if they had no previous exposure to the game. Every rule, every strategy, and every technique had to be explained from scratch. Kids were more likely to bring a soccer ball to practice and want to kick it around the outfield before a game than take batting practice. The other thing killing the sport is time. We see lacrosse teams arrive at the field next to us, play a game, and go home just in the time that we are stretching out, throwing, doing batting practice and infield warmups before a game. The lax kids (and parents) are home firing up the BBQ before the first pitch has been thrown.
- ilamont 9y ago
  Grew up a Red Sox fan, watching free games on broadcast TV every week and attending games for less than $10. At one point in the mid-80s bleacher seats were $2. Left Boston, came back 8 years later, found that you can only watch games on cable and tickets are unbelievably expensive. The Red Sox's new owners want to make a lot of money and hire top talent to make them a winning team. But not all fans can afford to go along for the ride. Now I have a family. We don't have cable so my son can't watch 95% of games on TV. The one time four of us went to Fenway it was nearly $400 about 15 rows back from the third base line. How can anyone keep that up? He never got a chance to be a fan like I did. We did play catch and did some batting practice in the park when he was about 8 or 9, but that dropped off as he tried different sports and didn't have the connection with professional baseball. Now, for him, the only sports he watches are football and basketball, and the only sports he plays for fun are basketball, touch football, soccer, and ultimate frisbee.
  - bobochan 9y ago
    The game day only sale of bleacher tickets for $2 was a gift from the Baseball Gods to the City of Boston. Our boys are three sport athletes in high school and it still takes serious bribes to get them to watch any sporting event with me. The one positive note is that they are just as interested in watching women compete as men. I think we have been to an equal number of men's and women's college hockey games, which I am not sure I would have been as open to back in the 70s and 80s.
- JohnBooty 9y ago
  Oooof. Doesn't bode well for the future of the game :-/ The net effect was that we had to work with every player as if they had no previous exposure to the game. Every rule, every strategy, and every technique had to be explained from scratch. Yeah! And kids can't even throw a baseball any more. That used to be the one "basic" sports skill every kid had: even if you didn't play baseball you could throw a ball because we played "wall ball" and other games. But, even though it's sad, I'm fine with it. Things change. Really, as long as kids are playing sports... I think that's fine. Baseball (as much as I love the game) is arguably one of the worst sports for kids because you spend 90% of your time waiting for your turn at bat, or waiting for the ball to be hit to you. I still think baseball has the best simple pleasures of any sport, though. Hitting a baseball and catching a baseball. Still my two favorite things in sports. The other thing killing the sport is time. We see lacrosse teams arrive at the field next to us, play a game, and go home just in the time that we are stretching out, throwing, doing batting practice and infield warmups before a game. The lax kids (and parents) are home firing up the BBQ before the first pitch has been thrown. Yeah. People are busier these days. I think we're way too busy these days, but regardless of what I think, the reality is that kids and parents need sports that fit into this new reality better.

bobochan 9y ago

I coached youth baseball for a long time and every year I would ask for a quick show of hands for how many kids had actually been to a major league game, and then how many kids had watched baseball on TV. The numbers for both dropped every year, but the TV numbers were in free fall. Talking to the parents, most reported that they were unwilling to subscribe to premium channels to watch baseball, and that they wanted to limit the amount of time that their kids spent on electronics. The net effect was that we had to work with every player as if they had no previous exposure to the game. Every rule, every strategy, and every technique had to be explained from scratch. Kids were more likely to bring a soccer ball to practice and want to kick it around the outfield before a game than take batting practice. The other thing killing the sport is time. We see lacrosse teams arrive at the field next to us, play a game, and go home just in the time that we are stretching out, throwing, doing batting practice and infield warmups before a game. The lax kids (and parents) are home firing up the BBQ before the first pitch has been thrown.

ilamont 9y ago
Grew up a Red Sox fan, watching free games on broadcast TV every week and attending games for less than $10. At one point in the mid-80s bleacher seats were $2. Left Boston, came back 8 years later, found that you can only watch games on cable and tickets are unbelievably expensive. The Red Sox's new owners want to make a lot of money and hire top talent to make them a winning team. But not all fans can afford to go along for the ride. Now I have a family. We don't have cable so my son can't watch 95% of games on TV. The one time four of us went to Fenway it was nearly $400 about 15 rows back from the third base line. How can anyone keep that up? He never got a chance to be a fan like I did. We did play catch and did some batting practice in the park when he was about 8 or 9, but that dropped off as he tried different sports and didn't have the connection with professional baseball. Now, for him, the only sports he watches are football and basketball, and the only sports he plays for fun are basketball, touch football, soccer, and ultimate frisbee.
- bobochan 9y ago
  The game day only sale of bleacher tickets for $2 was a gift from the Baseball Gods to the City of Boston. Our boys are three sport athletes in high school and it still takes serious bribes to get them to watch any sporting event with me. The one positive note is that they are just as interested in watching women compete as men. I think we have been to an equal number of men's and women's college hockey games, which I am not sure I would have been as open to back in the 70s and 80s.
JohnBooty 9y ago
Oooof. Doesn't bode well for the future of the game :-/ The net effect was that we had to work with every player as if they had no previous exposure to the game. Every rule, every strategy, and every technique had to be explained from scratch. Yeah! And kids can't even throw a baseball any more. That used to be the one "basic" sports skill every kid had: even if you didn't play baseball you could throw a ball because we played "wall ball" and other games. But, even though it's sad, I'm fine with it. Things change. Really, as long as kids are playing sports... I think that's fine. Baseball (as much as I love the game) is arguably one of the worst sports for kids because you spend 90% of your time waiting for your turn at bat, or waiting for the ball to be hit to you. I still think baseball has the best simple pleasures of any sport, though. Hitting a baseball and catching a baseball. Still my two favorite things in sports. The other thing killing the sport is time. We see lacrosse teams arrive at the field next to us, play a game, and go home just in the time that we are stretching out, throwing, doing batting practice and infield warmups before a game. The lax kids (and parents) are home firing up the BBQ before the first pitch has been thrown. Yeah. People are busier these days. I think we're way too busy these days, but regardless of what I think, the reality is that kids and parents need sports that fit into this new reality better.